A noted Yeshiva University historian is seeking to return the honorary degree she holds from the City University of New York after CUNY's board blocked a similar honor for the playwright Tony Kushner, citing his criticism of Israel.
After the news broke yesterday that Kushner's honorary degree had been blocked by the CUNY board, things have quickly escalated.
Ellen Schrecker of Yeshiva University fired off a letter of protest to the board of trustees asking how to return a 2008 honorary degree -- "the greatest honor I had ever received" -- to John Jay College, a CUNY school.
"I received my honorary degree from CUNY because of my scholarship on the McCarthy period, when over one hundred professors (including at least fifteen from the New York City municipal colleges) lost their jobs for political reasons," writes Schrecker. "I assume that no one within CUNY’s Board of Trustees or administration wants a repeat of those dark days. Certainly, the John Jay faculty and administration, whose judgment the CUNY Trustees overrode, realize the value of academic freedom today."
http://www.salon.com/news/israel/?story=/politics/war_room/2011/05/05/cuny_kushner_honorary_degree_update